A Question of Resolve
by compass-ink
Summary: Kain makes a decision at the village of Mist.


_It had been a hard fight in the caverns. Kain had never seen a dragon such as that and would certainly never have looked for it beneath a mountain. But it was done, and now he and Cecil could complete their mission. He tried to quash his misgivings at how cryptic it all seemed. They were to deliver a ring; surely it was some sort of diplomatic gesture or coded message to the village leaders. A painfully simple errand, as befitted a Lord Captain stripped of his rank._

_So he told himself, until Cecil's surprised shout as red light flashed from his hand and the afternoon changed._

Kain's blood did not boil when he saw the destruction that rained down on the village of Mist. It ran like ice in his veins as the inferno raged, unable to do aught but watch as the bombs chased down men, women and children. The smell of burning thatch and flesh mingled in the air, screams ringing in his ears, the heat of the flames... and yet part of him raged that this couldn't be real. There was no way he had visited this horror on them. The King had issued no order like this; he was clearly hallucinating this impossibility... "He wished this village torched." That was his own voice speaking, but it seemed as though it belonged to someone else.

"But why...? _WHY?!_" Cecil's scream mingled with the others, equal to their anguish despite being the cause of it. This world, then, was real. But Kain could not answer him any more than he could have explained a nightmare. How could these be his Majesty's orders? Mist was close to Baron, it was true. There was talk of strange magic when traders passed through the valley, but talk only. They'd always kept to themselves. No one could reasonably consider them a threat. Yet this had been his King's order... as though he had not already proved himself mad by sending the Red Wings' full fleet to sack a city of pacifistic mages.

Kain's mind was made up long before the child's sobbing reached their ears.

He saw Cecil approach the young girl, bent over the body of her mother. She certainly had no choice but to accept the reality that lay broken at her feet. No blood and no burns, how strange. Then something else had slain her... so the rumors had been true. The thought came strangely dispassionate, and Kain heard himself speaking again. "I've heard of their lot. Men who can conjure eidolons-summoners."

"Then the dragon we slew..." Cecil said weakly, "was her mother's?"

The girl heard. Her head snapped up, eyes blazing with hatred as well as sorrow. "You-you're the ones who killed her dragon?"

"Forgive us," Cecil said, spreading his hands and staring at the ground in his misery. "We'd no idea this would happen to your mother."

So they had orphaned a child. They had orphaned others and robbed parents of their children. This girl was just one of many. Kain lifted his head and surveyed what was fast becoming the ruins of Mist. Even had they the strength to fight every Bomb they had unleashed, there was no hope of extinguishing the flames they had already set... the carnelian signet had been a work of horrific genius. "His Majesty sent us to eliminate every last one of these people."

"No..." Cecil fell to his knees.

_But you followed his orders,_ Kain thought. Yes, he had also obeyed. He had not spoken when he learned of the Red Wings' mission, but there was a difference between that and being the one to carry it out. _You asked him why you needed to attack Mysidia only after your return. Rosa visits you in the night to soothe your soul, but I share your fear. Are you but a coward?_ There was no question of Cecil's physical courage. That was not very important, in Kain's mind. All a man needed was a set of armor and confidence with a blade. But there was a difference between a guilty conscience and a willingness to act, and this would be no mere treason for Cecil as it would be for Kain. He was Baron's son just as surely as if the man had sired him. Did he have the strength to turn away from him?

And if he did not... if he did not, he would flee to the castle. He might even win back his command, pleading newfound loyalty-no, no he would not, Kain decided suddenly. His bubbling thoughts began to coalesce into something solid, a course of action. If Cecil opposed it... then Kain would do what he must, as painful as it would be.

The world came into sudden focus-it had barely been seconds between Cecil's collapse and Kain's resolve. There was no time to draw in a breath or steel his nerves. Kain approached the girl with deliberate steps. "Foul work to be sure, but we'll need to kill the girl as well."

He walked into a wall of black armor. Mailed hands struck his breastplate. "Kain!"

"It's her or us, Cecil!" he insisted.

"She's a child!" Cecil's blue eyes burned beneath the dark knight's visor. Something had taken hold of him, and it plainly was not doubt.

Kain tried to keep his voice cold and flat as he spoke next, but despite his efforts, he could not quite control a smile. "You'd betray your king?"

"_Betray_ him? Any man who'd wish for this is no king of mine!"

Kain snorted softly. "I thought you might say that." He had thought, but he'd not been sure... he could not describe the relief at knowing he had been wrong. And Rosa... Kain knew she had been troubled by the king's actions. She would join them without a doubt. With them at his side, he could put a stop to Baron's madness.

* * *

It was cold on Mount Ordeals that morning, as always. But when Kain awoke, he fancied he could feel the heat of those flames. Two years ago, now. He took a pull from his canteen, grimacing at the bitter taste of his mouth first thing in the morning. Today, the flavor was tinged with irony. Pushing open the flap of the tent, he stepped outside of the light from the sacred circle. He gazed northward to where Baron and Mist lay, though the world's curve and many mountains blocked them from view.

The brisk winds and faint whiff of rot from Ordeals' creatures scattered Kain's nightmare visions of flame and ruin. Untidy wisps of hair blew into his eyes, stinging. _This is real._ A grim smile touched his lips.

"And to think that it was I who thought your worthiness in doubt."


End file.
